In addition to growing “mos,” WCCO’s mustachioed men will bring readers and viewers the stories behind the ‘staches.

Nate Haugen is participating in his first Movember, and he’s doing so in honor of his mother, who lost her two-year battle with ovarian cancer in 2011.

“With ovarian cancer, they call it…the ‘silent killer’ because you, typically, you don’t find it til it’s in [the] second or third stage,” Haugen said. “And at that point, there’s not a lot they can do.”

But with prostate cancer, there’s a lot than can be done. If detected early, prostate cancer treatment has a 97-percent success rate.

So this Movember, Nate is following his mother’s lead.

“It’s something that I can help promote and still kind of carry her cause forward because she was a big advocate of health and wellness,” he said.

Haugen’s urging men to get screened for prostate and testicular cancers.

“It’s definitely something that you should [do], all guys, and especially once you start having kids and you have a family to support, that you got to make sure that you’re healthy enough to be able to take care of them and help set a good future for your family,” he said.

Nate, who became a parent himself earlier this year, knows the pain of losing a parent to cancer. He’s hoping more men will follow his lead.

“I hope and pray that hopefully my family doesn’t have to go through any type of cancer in the future with myself or my wife,” Haugen said. “And hopefully with awareness and early screening and prevention that we don’t have to deal with that.”